May 21, 2024

Litigation Finance and Your Career

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

Newsletter


W. Tyler Perry

|

May 21, 2024

Back when law was a profession and not a business, landing a job at an established firm reasonably set you up for a long and fruitful career.  Firms had institutional clients.  Lateral moves among stable firms were rare.  And partners cared about mentoring the next generation because the next generation would pay for their retirement.  Those halcyon days are long gone.  Today, even the most profitable and prestigious firms suffer defections as partners search for the highest guaranteed dollar.  The corollary effects of this reality are legion, but one of the more interesting ones is that it has substantively increased the need for associates to take ownership of their careers at an increasingly early stage.  In this changing ecosystem, if you want to succeed, you need to be an entrepreneur.  And litigation finance can help. 

One of the key methods successful lawyers use to build a book of business is assisting their friends and members of their broader professional network who might need legal services.  For more senior partners, this usually means staying in touch with friends, classmates, and former colleagues who have management positions at large banks or corporations and hoping that they will refer work.  Unfortunately, the people most in need of those connections ( i.e., associates and junior partners) generally do not have such well-placed contacts.  One of the key exceptions to this general rule, however, is early-stage startups and small businesses.  Even in your twenties and early thirties, there is a good chance that you know someone who has started a business.  Those companies have litigation; indeed, they often have high-value litigation that they fail to pursue based on the fact that they do not have sufficient funds and the consequent assumption that they are without recourse.  Be the conduit that rights their wrongs by using litigation finance to pursue such matters.  Your ability to do so proactively will show value to both the firm and your client.  And will help differentiate you from your colleagues. 

I started my career at a big law firm in New York.  As a general rule, they are great places to learn by working with accomplished lawyers on headline-grabbing matters.  But even in big law, equity partners in litigation spend significant amounts of time worrying about their next big matter, particularly as rates have risen through the roof.  Searching for a solution, an increasing number of firms have taken the tack of developing contingency fee practices.  If you are fortunate enough to work at such a firm, give thought to developing your own litigation thesis and pursuing that worthy claim.  

A big part of this process is getting over the fear that you cannot identify meritorious cases.  Do not worry.  Hard work, drive, and an entrepreneurial spirit can get you far. And, to the degree that you worry about experience, involve your more senior colleagues in the process.  They like initiative and are usually willing to help, particularly where it could increase the firm’s revenue.  The best way to do this is to think like a plaintiff lawyer. Read the news. Talk to members of the community. Think about how your area of experience can uniquely position you to bring cases. In their best form, plaintiff lawyers seek to redress concrete societal harms through the courts. Be that active citizen.  

Another option for the ambitious senior associate or non-equity partner seeking to make a name for themselves is to build your own practice.  Historically, very few people left big law to start their own firms; indeed, doing so was often a mark that you simply “couldn’t cut it” in the big leagues.  Not so anymore.  Today, we increasingly see strong lawyers launch their own practices at an earlier stage of their careers as a means of sidestepping the political and economic considerations that can artificially stifle careers at established law firms.  Like venture capital firms, litigation funders can provide seed capital for law firms that have a clear business plan and book of meritorious cases.  

***

The bench of litigation finance firms is wide, and it can be difficult to differentiate among organizations in the space.  At its core, what makes Certum Group different is our unique ability to help you be the entrepreneur you need to be in order to make a place for yourself in the increasingly competitive world of high-end litigation.  Our team of lawyers has worked at some of the top firms in the country and is well placed to help you bring meritorious litigation or launch your own firm.  Call us.   We can help. 

The post Litigation Finance and Your Career appeared first on Certum Group.

Certum Group Can Help

Get in touch to start discussing options.

Recent Content

By Certum Team March 5, 2026
Above the Law, a leading blog focused on the legal industry, recently highlighted Certum Group’s litigation finance fellowship, noting the opportunity for law students and business students to gain “a four-week, hands-on immersion in what it actually looks like when capital meets complex litigation.” “To succeed, lawyers need to understand not only doctrine but also finance. Law schools are beginning to reflect that shift, and students want to understand it,” Certum’s William Marra told Above the Law. “Our Summer Fellowship is about opening that door for both law and business students, and giving them meaningful exposure to the capital side of litigation.”  Applications for the fellowship are due on March 31, 2026, and should include a resume, law school transcript, and a brief 250-word statement of interest. Applications should be sent to SummerFellowship@CertumGroup.com . Above the Law’s coverage is available here , and Certum’s application page for the fellowship is available here .
By Certum Group March 2, 2026
For the third consecutive year, Certum Group will host one or more summer fellows, introducing accomplished law students and business students to the growing field of litigation finance. The Certum Group Litigation Finance Fellowship provides top law students with an opportunity to gain hands-on experience in the rapidly growing fields of litigation finance and litigation insurance. Fellows will evaluate litigation funding submissions, draft memoranda analyzing legal and damages issues, help structure and negotiate funding agreements, and contribute to marketing and business development initiatives. They will work closely with Certum’s experienced team of litigation finance, litigation insurance, and investment professionals. Throughout the program, Fellows will develop a practical understanding of how claimholders, law firms, insurers, and capital providers assess litigation risk — and how capital can be deployed as a strategic tool in complex disputes. Further information about the fellowship and instructions about how to apply are available here.
By Certum Group February 24, 2026
Columbia Law School’s blog on corporations and the public markets, The CLS Blue Sky Blog, recently featured the scholarly work on litigation finance written by Indiana University Business School Professor Suneal Bedi and Certum’s William C. Marra. In their blog post, Bedi and Marra discuss their article Litigation Finance in the Market Square , which was recently published in the Southern California Law Review. Their work reframes litigation finance as a capital markets innovation rather than solely a civil justice mechanism. While much of the public debate has centered on questions of disclosure, control, and settlement incentives, Bedi and Marra emphasize that legal claims often represent significant but illiquid contingent assets on a firm’s balance sheet. When policymakers regulate litigation finance, they are regulating not just the legal business but the capital markets. And they are regulating capital markets in a way that is more likely to harm small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) while protecting large companies from competition.  The full blog post is available here.